


Into the Badlands

by orphan_account



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Bottom Louis, Consensual Infidelity, Harry as 007, Harry doesn't know the meaning of the word covert, James Bond!AU, Liam as 009, Louis also refuses to acknowledge his feelings for a little bit, Louis as Q, Louis has minions, M/M, Niall as R, Spies!AU, Topping from the Bottom, implied honeypot missions, it's also not explicit, it's part of the job, niall knows everything, they're both more than okay with it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2015-11-16
Packaged: 2018-05-01 23:24:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5225057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“007, need I remind you that this was meant to be a covert operation?” he snapped through the mic. He waved away one of his minions when he was approached, unwilling to suffer any sort of attention deficit that could possibly result in the near annihilation of a very small country by one of his very, very stupid double-oh agents.</p>
<p>“Q, you wound me,” came the cheery voice over the speakers, gunshots sounding in the background. “Of course I listen when you tell me what my missions are.”</p>
<p>“Covert, 007, covert. Shall I bring you a dictionary so that you may look up the definition of the bloody word covert?!” he nearly shrieked as another explosion rocked through monitor.</p>
<p>007 giggled. “You sound angry; have you been doing those relaxation exercises I showed you last time? They’ll do wonders for your elevated stress levels.”</p>
<p>Or</p>
<p>Louis is Q. Harry is a double-oh agent who thinks that making knock-knock jokes around foreign embassy delegates mid-mission is a good idea.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Into the Badlands

**Author's Note:**

> Right, so. This happened. I fully blame my friend. Also, this probably could've been slightly longer but unfortunately real life has a tendency of getting in the way, so I'll post it as is :) Enjoy!
> 
> P.S. Harry does have to sleep with other people every once in a while for his missions, but Louis is more than okay with it. It's touched upon a little bit towards the end. It is now tagged as Consensual Infidelity

            Louis let out a long-suffering sigh, his eyes closed in exasperation as he fought to remind himself once more of his daily mantra. “Don’t murder one of your agents,” he muttered through clenched teeth, “don’t murder one of your agents, don’t murder one of your agents, don’t –”

            An explosion through the monitor prompted another weary sigh, his eyelids fluttering open as he assessed the damage on one of the numerous monitors. “For the love of –” Louis forcefully cut himself off, leaning against the table behind him and pinching the bridge of his nose with cold fingers. Headquarters needed to get a better heating system for fuck’s sake. “007, need I remind you that this was meant to be a _covert_ operation?” he snapped through the mic. He waved away one of his minions when he was approached, unwilling to suffer any sort of attention deficit that could possibly result in the near annihilation of a very small country by one of his very, _very_ stupid double-oh agents.

            “ _Q, you wound me_ ,” came the cheery voice over the speakers, gunshots sounding in the background. “ _Of course I listen when you tell me what my missions are._ ”

            “Covert, 007, _covert_. Shall I bring you a dictionary so that you may look up the definition of the bloody word _covert_?!” he nearly shrieked as another explosion rocked through monitor.

            007 giggled. “ _You sound angry; have you been doing those relaxation exercises I showed you last time? They’ll do wonders for your elevated stress levels_.”

            “Your exit is down the corridor to your left, behind two rather large and heavily armed security guards,” Louis snapped instead, willing the blush away from his face as he vividly recalled walking into his _private_ office a few weeks ago to find agent 007 doing those bloody stretches _on top_ of the bloody desk. The blood had rushed very far down south that day and Louis had had to run away from his _own_ office. Fuck.

            “ _Roger that_ ,” the smirk on his face could be heard through his voice though Louis decided to take the high road and ignore it.

            “There’s a chopper waiting for you three blocks due south, try to get there in one piece,” he sighed as he watched 007 easily shoot down the two security guards before pushing the door open. “You’ll rendez-vous at headquarters tomorrow at 0900 hours for debriefing; there’ll be a car waiting for you at the airport when you land.” He was ready to sign off and let one of his minions monitor 007’s exit for reassurance when he was stopped once more.

            “ _Q?_ ” Agent 007’s voice filtered through the speakers and it could’ve just been Louis’ imagination, but it sounded deeper and huskier than just a few moments before. “ _I can’t wait to see you._ ”

            Louis’ cheeks flushed a deep red and he looked around him to make sure none of his subordinates were paying attention to the mission being monitored at the front of the large room. He cleared his throat. “Try not to blow up half the country on your way out.” He signed off and let his head drop low, the tension bleeding out of his shoulders steadily at the knowledge that 007 would make it back safely.

            He felt a presence sidle up next to him and didn’t have to look up to know exactly who it was. “Don’t say it,” he spoke pre-emptively, his head still lowered between his shoulders.

            “Didn’t even have time to open my mouth,” Niall shrugged as he settled on the desk next to Louis with two mugs in his hands.

            Louis grabbed one without looking when it was extended to him, mentally promising to make sure Niall never had to deal with waiting an obnoxiously long time for takeout again thanks to his wonderful generosity. He’d set up some sort of algorithm once he made it back home.

            “Although,” the Irishman spoke up after a sip, “I think it’s safe to say he _really_ wants in your pants, mate.”

            Nope. Niall would be subjected to _never ever_ getting food, _ever_. He’d make sure Niall starved to death. “Kindly fuck off,” he smiled tightly at Niall before he strutted off towards the exit with his own stomach making grumbling sounds; Louis really needed to get some food in him. “Oi, minion number three!” he called out towards the line of desks against the wall. He continued once the startled young man looked up. “Monitor Agent 007’s exit and make sure he gets to his flight on time; should there be any problems, alert me straight away,” he spoke as he walked further.

            “I have a name…” he heard the boy mutter as he looked back down at his screen, his fingers already flying to pull up the commands.

            “Which I will bother to use properly once you show me that you’re not actually incompetent enough to send a chopper to the _wrong location_ a second time. 009 gave me a fucking earful after that mission.” Louis didn’t bother stopping to hear his response.

            The boy’s head lowered even further, the tips of his ears turning red. “Sir, yes sir,” he mumbled darkly, knowing he rightfully deserved that.

***

            Louis was losing it. He’d been stuck at HQ for nearly a full week, napping on a cot in his office in between supervising time-sensitive missions and working on altered weapon prototypes. He couldn’t remember what the sun looked like anymore or the feeling of the wind on his skin. He was turning so damn _pale_. He needed fresh air and he needed it soon.

            He threw his tablet and the pen on his office desk, plans for hi-tech guns plastered to the back of his eyelids as he sat back and tried to rest his blurry vision.

            “I’m telling you, those stretches will do you wonders,” a voice suddenly interrupted him, causing him to nearly fall off his chair in surprise.

            Louis righted himself and tried not to look flustered as he hastily adjusted his fringe, agent 007 staring at him from the doorway with a smirk on his pink lips. “007,” Louis greeted him with what he hoped was a neutral expression though he couldn’t help but wonder just how terrible he looked after a week of sleeping at the office.

007 of course, looked like a model who’d just walked off the runway and not at all like someone who’d just gone through several explosions and had been constantly shot at in the last twenty-four hours.

Louis glanced at the time displayed on his monitor. “You’re quite early, 007. I’m certain I said 0900 hours, not 0400 hours,” he mentioned with tired bewilderment before looking back.

            007 stared at him.

            Louis resisted the urge to squirm under the attention.

            007 stared some more. “You wear glasses,” he said, wonder coating his deep voice as his green eyes roamed over the planes of Louis’ face.

            Louis’ mouth gaped momentarily before he snapped it shut, his hands grabbing at the thick frames sitting on his face and hastily pulling them off before shoving them in a drawer. “I, um,” he stuttered. “I’ve run out of contact lenses,” he mumbled, looking around his desk for something to occupy his suddenly restless hands. “Shouldn’t you still be on a plane?” God could he be any more pathetic? His brain was refusing to function properly and his witty responses were at a frightful minimum. Though to be fair, he found that happening fairly often whenever he was in the physical presence of one certain person.

            “Shouldn’t you be at your flat, getting some rest?”  The other man let out an ‘oomph’ as he settled himself in the chair opposite Louis’ desk, crossing one leg over the other.

            “The world still needs saving 007, which means that unfortunately, I don’t get any sleep,” Louis scoffed half-heartedly, picking up his pen once more and resuming the sketching on his tablet.

            “Harry,” 007 told him.

            Louis looked up with a raised brow. “Huh?”

            “My name, it’s Harry. You always call me by my designation and never by my name,” he shrugged lightly, pretty eyes observing the office.

            “That’s because it would be unprofessional to call you anything else during working hours.” It had taken a moment for him to be able to respond, his lack of sleep slowing down his response time. He looked up to find Harry’s full and undivided attention on him, and Louis could swear the room had suddenly turned warm; either that or he was now suffering from hot flashes.

            007 smiled and Louis was momentarily blinded by dimples he constantly had to force himself to forget about. “I’m not expected to be working for another five hours, and I’m assuming you’re currently working off the clock.” He smiled wider, cheeky. “Louis.”

            Louis could feel his breath catch in his throat and his stomach drop to his feet, the sound of his name coming from that specific voice doing unexpected things to him and his nether regions. “I… um. Need to go. Now. I need to go now.” He hastily put his things into random drawers, pushing back his chair and trying not to trip as he rushed to stand. He grabbed his messenger bag and shouldered it as he walked out of his office and into Q-Branch, walking past the empty desks and towards the glass doors.

            “What about my debriefing?” he could hear being shouted from the open doorway of his office.

            “R will be here to fill you in,” he called out, making a mental note to text Niall as soon as possible; he’d have to have something great to bribe the Irishman with in order to convince him to come in so early on such short notice.

            God he might just have to agree to let Niall try out his new explosives in the testing range. There won’t be a Q-branch left standing in the aftermath.

***

            “007,” Louis pinched at the bridge of his nose in familiar frustration, “if you could possibly avoid making _knock-knock jokes_ while surrounded by a number of foreign embassy delegates whose lives you’re trying to save, it would be greatly appreciated.” He ignored Niall’s snickers from where he was practically plastered to Louis’ side.

            Clearly 007 was hell-bent on ignoring him as he started off on yet _another_ bloody joke. How was this _overgrown child_ an MI6 operative tasked with life-threatening missions day in and day out? Agent 007 could hardly even finish his joke with how much he was laughing at _himself_ , though given the feed being transferred to Q-branch, everyone at the gala was completely enamored with him. That certainly made his mission a lot easier.

            “Target to your right,” Louis spoke up suddenly, zooming in on the person in question. “Blonde, black dress, she’s walking towards the exit, you need to intercept her now.”

            Louis and Niall watched as 007 did just that, charmingly excusing himself from the small crowd that had gathered around him before pretending to bump into the woman in question. “You know,” Niall started as they continued watching the large screens mounted to the wall, “he was a bit put out last time.”

            “Hm?” Louis asked distractedly as they observed 007 sidle up to the target, the physical distance between them growing smaller. Judging by the growing smile on her face, the mission was going smoothly so far.

            “That night you walked out on him,” Niall continued, making sure to pre-emptively move out of the way when Louis suddenly did a spit-take. He continued to observe the screens even as he could feel Louis’ glare digging into the side of his skull.

            “What in the _bloody hell_ are you talking about?!” he glanced around; his minions didn’t need another reason to snicker at him.

            “The debriefing that you made me come in at an insanely early time to give him, d’you remember that?”

            “Of course I remember the reason why half of my testing range is out of commission, R,” Louis glared at him. “There’s a reason I don’t let you try out your explosives all that often.”

            “Stop trying to change the subject,” Niall bumped their shoulders together as they leaned back on the table, focussing on the screen once more. “Why’d you leave?”

            Louis sighed, his eyes wearily taking in the scene playing on the monitors; 007 was taking the girl to one of the upstairs bedrooms. “He told me to call him Harry,” he answered truthfully.

            “So?” Niall raised a quizzical brow. “You call me by my name more often than you call me R. You also call Liam by his name whenever he’s not on a mission; what’s the problem?”

            “Because it’s not the same thing. I don’t regard 007 and 009 in the same way, of course it’s easier for me to call Liam by his name than by his designation, we trained together, we grew up together. I barely know 007,” he shrugged. “And to be honest, it’s probably not the best thing to get to know him, not in this line of work.”

            Niall was stopped from replying when 007’s voice filtered through the speakers. “ _Target is in the bathroom, the intel we’re looking for seems to be on her phone_.”

            Louis unmuted his microphone. “You’re still in the clear, security personnel are walking their usual layout,” he said while observing the screen, keeping track of every detailed movement around the hotel.

            “Right,” came 007’s deep reply. “ _See you on the other side, boys,_ ” were his last words before his comm-link went dead.

            Louis stood there, stunned. “What.” His blue eyes were wide as they observed the repeated message in the corner where 007’s vitals were being monitored. The words ‘ **Connection Lost** ’ were flickering there, antagonising Louis into a simmering rage. “ _What_ ,” he repeated with more force.

            Next to him, Niall was gaping. “Did he… did he just turn off his comm?”

            “I’m going to kill him,” Louis seethed. He walked around to the other end of the table and settled himself in front of the keyboard, his fingers flying over the keys as he attempted to fix the connection. “I’m going to _murder_ him, what does he think he’s doing?!” The reconnection was impossible given that the device itself had most likely been damaged by 007 himself. They officially had no ways of communicating with their agent.

             Niall was still gaping. “Maybe… he had a reason?” he tried unsuccessfully.

            “ _Murder_ , R. In the slowest and most painful way known to mankind,” he paused long enough to say, manic features flushed.

            In that moment, Niall was extremely happy that he was not one Harry Styles.

***

            Louis was trying his utmost to ignore the presence behind him as he loaded his gun, aimed it down the lane, and shot repeatedly at the paper target, all too easily imagining the face of one specific MI6 operative as the bull’s eye. He focussed instead on the feeling of the recoil, the muscles in his arm tensing as he kept his elbow bent to avoid a fracture. He focussed on the lines of the target, the muffled sound of the gun firing bullet after bullet with barely a pause.

He refused to give the other man the satisfaction of having even an ounce of his attention; when his clip was finally empty, he pressed the button to bring the target forward, removing the paper and jotting down the trial number, date, and time as well as the distance so that he could go over it later while making notes for improvement. Louis set it aside, pulled up a brand new target and clipped it on before sending the thing careening even further down the lane. He reloaded his gun and started all over again, never once taking off the bulky ear muffs or the oversized glasses. Louis wouldn’t even give him the _opportunity_ to talk to him.

He was just getting his fourth round ready when he felt a hand close around his own, the grip soft but determined. Louis’ jaw clenched as he fought the urge to hurl his empty gun across the room and pull a childish fit in the middle of the gun range, reluctantly letting go of the prototype as it was slowly pulled away from him. He followed the large hands as they settled on his shoulders and turned him over until he was face to face with the current bane of his existence. Louis refused to move an inch further when 007’s hands trailed up from his shoulders and over the delicate skin of his neck before grabbing hold of the protective earmuffs and pulling them off, placing them elsewhere.

“What do you want?” Louis finally broke after what seemed to be an eternity of standing under 007’s hypnotic green gaze. He averted his own eyes, fixating them on a point beyond the agent’s left shoulder. “I was in the middle of testing a new prototype.” He ignored the minimal amount of distance between them.

“I’m here for my debriefing,” came 007’s deep voice.

Louis stepped back. “Your debriefing should have already been done by R,” he swallowed as he turned to gather his things, cursing his hands for shaking now of all times. He put the weapon away in the case, closed it shut and grabbed the target sheets next. “Your next stop should be Medical.” He tensed as he felt 007 step closer.

“Louis –”

“ ** _Don’t_** ,” Louis snapped. He whirled around, completely forgetting about the things he was putting away and focussing on the bloody fucking moronic _idiot_ standing in front of him. “Don’t you bloody dare use my name 007, I am your Quartermaster, is that _understood_?!”

007 gaped at him, his pink mouth open and his green eyes wide. His long, brown hair fell around his shoulders and he still donned the same suit he’d been wearing for the mission though half the buttons were undone, displaying ink on creamy skin. Clearly he’d gone directly from the mission, straight into debriefing, and then had apparently went on the hunt for Louis. “I…” he started, but Louis interrupted him before he could continue.

“I understand that you bloody double-oh agents have to risk your lives day after day, but I will absolutely not let one of you die on my watch because of a decision as _idiotic_ as turning _off_ your **_bloody comm_**!” He was shouting by the end of his sentence, more than aware of the fact that his face was most likely turning red with rage.

“I’m sorry,” was 007’s response, his face guilt-ridden as he shuffled his feet and looked away.

Louis choked on incredulous laughter. “Sorry? _Sorry?!_ It’s my job to keep you alive and I can’t do that if you’re cutting me off! I don’t…” he trailed off, the anger draining away all of a sudden to be replaced by weariness. “I don’t _understand_.” He observed the agent in front of him and Christ, he couldn’t be much older than a _boy_ , how was he even allowed to kill people on a regular basis. “You’ve never done anything like this before. What _happened_?” In their year and a half of working together, no matter the mission, 007 has never cut off communication with him. “Are you self-conscious all of a sudden?”

007 looked away, his gaze shifty as he wrung his hands together. “M’not self-conscious,” he mumbled and shrugged.

“You better not be, fuck’s sake I’ve seen and heard you in pretty much every situation imaginable.” There was no reason to be modest about it when it was true. It was an unavoidable part of the job.

007 stared at him earnestly. “It won’t happen again, Q,” was all he said, not elaborating on anything else. “I promise.”

Louis sighed, his chest deflating as the anger completely left him. He nodded and slowly turned to finish putting away his things. “I don’t want to add another name to that bloody wall, Harry. Not if I can help it.” He packed everything away and left, choosing not to look at 007’s shocked expression as he walked past him and deeper into the hallways of MI6.

***

            Harry couldn’t quite pinpoint the moment his life had been set on the hectic track of becoming an MI6 operative and a double-oh agent at that. All he knew was that one day, he just… was. He met Niall – R – first, his eternally sunny disposition at odds with the very nature of their jobs. The Irishman had an infectious personality, his laughter resounding loudly down the hallways and Harry had automatically been drawn to him; their friendship was instantaneous.

            The same could not be said for his Quartermaster. Harry met him as he was being outfitted for a simple recon mission. Harry’s life changed the moment he first set eyes on Louis Tomlinson. He’d been standing at the very end of Q-branch, on the raised platform that was outfitted with large monitors against one wall and a table covered in various keyboards in the middle. Louis – Q – was hunched over one of the keyboards, his fingers tapping away with alarming speed. He’d been wearing a white t-shirt covered with a loose, blue button-up, his black jeans tight and endearingly rolled up at the bottom, revealing bare ankles and a pair of Vans shoes. Harry had been mesmerised from the beginning. He’d barely been able to say a word back then.

            The present moment felt very much like that very first meeting. Harry froze in place as he walked into the training area, the doors closing soundly behind him while his eyes fixated on the figures sparring on the mats in the middle of the room. Harry could swear his stomach dropped to the floor, the swooping feeling rendering him dizzy enough that he worried about toppling over and losing consciousness.

            Louis was there sparring with Liam, both of them wearing jogging bottoms, their white tank tops nearly already see-through with perspiration; they must have been at it for a while. Harry watched, enraptured as Louis ducked, avoiding a kick to the face before he lunged and tackled Liam to the ground by the waist, easily dropping the larger man before backing away with a triumphant smile.

            “Call me a pencil pusher one more time,” Louis smirked at the exhausted agent sprawled on the mats, “and not only will I tackle you to the ground again but I’ll make sure to outfit you with the worst weapons in my possession.”

            Liam chuckled and winced, pushing himself off the floor and adjusting his fingerless gloves. “As long as you don’t ever assign me someone who will send the helicopter to the wrong place again, I think I’ll be fine.”

            “Don’t worry, I already bit his head off for it; minion three is on probation,” Louis bent his knees and got ready again, his fists held up.

            Harry could have very well stood there for the rest of eternity watching that one bead of sweat fall from Louis’ forehead down to the crook of his neck, which is of course when Louis’ blue eyes flickered over to him. Harry nearly tripped under the intensity of the gaze and he almost let a needy whine escape from his throat.

            “007,” Louis greeted him with a nod.

            Harry cleared his throat. “Q, 009,” he waved at them.

            “Harry!” Liam exclaimed, a genuine smile on his face. “Thought you were still in Belize, mate. Everything go well?”

            Harry could see Louis tensing from the corner of his eye, the memory of their previous conversation lingering between them. “Yeah, everything went fine,” he smiled, walking towards the treadmill. “In and out, as usual. That’s um… You guys train together?”

            “Every once in a while, yeah,” Liam shrugged and got into starting position again. “Back before Lou here got put into Q-branch, he was a field agent for a while. We started our training together.”

            Harry nearly fell on his face as the machine started before he was ready, the words registering in his head. He looked at Louis with wide eyes. “I didn’t know you were a field agent.”

            Louis busied himself with swinging a kick towards Liam’s head. “It was a while ago,” he panted. “I’ve headed Q-branch since.”

            “Right,” Harry nodded slowly, trying to wrap his mind around the image. “Got it.”

            If his joggers suddenly felt a little tighter around his crotch, he made sure to face away from the other two so as to not make it obvious.

***

            “So what exactly is Q,” Harry asked with what he hoped was an air of nonchalance, smacking Niall’s hand away when it approached the pan. “That’s still raw,” he warned. It was a rare night off for them both and so they’d shuffled over to Harry’s flat for food and beer.

            Niall cradled his injured hand and backed away with a mocking pout, his bottom lip jutting out. “What d’you mean, what is he? He’s Q, what else could he be?” Niall hopped up on the counter and swung his legs happily as the smell of good food wafted through the apartment.

            “I _mean_ ,” Harry glanced at him while adding the chopped red peppers to the pan, “what’s his deal? He doesn’t seem to like me much.” Harry tried not to feel hurt by that; it’s not that he needed absolutely everyone to like him, he just didn’t understand what reason he could have possibly given to Q to merit such a different treatment.

            Niall poked at Harry’s stomach with the tip of his toe. “S’not that he don’t like you, mate,” he shrugged, poking him again when Harry giggled. “S’just that he has a hard time not getting attached to people, so he tries to stop it from ever happening in the first place. He likes you just fine.”

            Harry raised a quizzical eyebrow, stirring the contents of the pan one last time before taking it off the heat. “I get that the two of you are close, given that you work together and all, but I had no idea he was that close to 009.” He tried not to make it sound like he was snooping; he wasn’t quite sure how successful he was being.

            “He and Liam go way back,” Niall explained as he hopped down from the counter and followed him like a puppy, trying to steal a piece away from the pan Harry was carrying. “They got recruited into MI6 at the same time and were trained together. Pulled off a couple of joint field missions too before Louis transferred to Q-branch.” He hissed when Harry smacked his hand away again.

            “Hm,” Harry hummed as he finished setting the table, placing the pan on a mat and grabbing the last of the condiments while Niall sat down enthusiastically.

            “Listen,” Niall spoke with his mouth already full, bits of fajita flying all over the place, “far be it from me to keep others from chasing after what they want, but be careful with Lou. He’s had a rough couple of years, decided to transfer after a particularly nasty mission, and I dunno how willing he’d be to add a relationship with a double-oh agent into the mix.”

            Harry sputtered, his eyes wide with shock. “I – That’s not why I’m asking!”

            “You’re a shit spy mate. No wonder your missions are never really covert.”

***

            Louis looked up when there was a sudden commotion at the entrance to Q-branch, his minions moving out of the way as the blurred figure of a double-oh agent hurried past them, an inscrutable look on his face.

            “007,” Louis greeted him with bewilderment. “How can we be of service?”

            “I just got out of a meeting with M,” 007 started right off, stopping abruptly in front of the large desk on the raised platform. “Funny enough, there was an interesting tidbit of information that was given during the debriefing for my latest job.”

            Louis looked away and started typing away at his keyboard, deliberately ignoring the glare he could feel digging into the top of his head. He resisted the urge to hum so as to disperse the awkwardness of the situation, already aware of what was to come.

            “Apparently,” 007 continued, advancing even closer, his large hands coming to rest on the edge of the table, “I have a partner this time around?”

            “I won’t be getting in your way, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Louis was quick to interject, not even bothering to look up. “There’s sensitive information to be retrieved and unfortunately it can only be done locally.”

            “So sending Q himself to retrieve the information was the best solution anyone could come up with?” 007 could hardly believe it.

            Louis sighed and paused in his typing to look up. “I have the field training as well as the specialised training to get the information we’re looking for. It makes sense to have me accompany you into the field.”

            007 gaped at him. “What about Q-branch?”

            Louis glanced around in surprise. “It’ll… still be here? R will be taking over for the length of time of the mission. Look, is there a reason for you to object to this? An _actual_ reason.”

            007 gaped, no words escaping him. Instead, he turned on his heel and hurried out of Q-branch, curious gazes following his exit.

            “Back to work, minions,” Louis called out, sparking a movement throughout the room. He looked up as R approached, a smirk adorning the Irishman’s face. “What d’you want?”

            Niall shrugged, handing him a folder, his blue eyes twinkling. “Nothin’, just think you should take it easy on the poor lad.”

            Louis stared at him incredulously. “What in the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?!”

            “Just saying!” Niall raised his arms in mock surrender. “I think you’ve already noticed that he’s infatuated with you and you’re just deliberately playing dumb. Though for the life of me, I can’t understand why; have you seen the man?” Niall pointed somewhere vague over his shoulder. “Mate, if I swung that way, I’d be all over him.”

            Louis choked on air. “Mate, I definitely didn’t need to know that about you.”

            “What?” Niall shrugged unapologetically. “I get weird dreams when I sleep on an empty stomach.”

***

            “I can’t believe you’ve already fucked up the mission!” were Louis’ first words as he crawled through the window, scaring Harry out of his wits.

            “What the fuck!” 007 cried out, his hand automatically pressing over his chest and trying to calm his suddenly elevated heart rate. He’d only just walked into his hotel room to find the head of Q-branch crawling past the ledge. “How did you get in here?!”

            “The window, _obviously_!” Louis glared at him and slammed the window shut behind him. “Three hours! We’ve been in Venice for _three whole hours_ and you’ve already fucked it all up!”

            “This is the top floor!” 007 breathed out. He walked past Q to the window, slid it open and looked outside.

            _“Three hours_!” Louis repeated in his loud voice, glaring at the back of his head.

            “There’s nothing to grip along the walls,” Harry muttered to himself.

            “A new fucking record, 007! Bravo!”

            Harry turned around, his eyes narrowed. “How did you climb it?”

            “Are you listening to me?!” Louis nearly shrieked.

            “Or did you drop down from the roof? I don’t see a rope on you though.”

            “For fuck’s sake, we’re having two separate conversations,” he muttered before walking further into the room, shaking his head in despair as he took off his black leather gloves. He headed towards the living room, slipping the straps of his bag off his shoulders and unzipping it. “You’ve already been made, 007. The target knows you’re here.”

            Harry followed him in a daze, his eyes glued to Q’s shapely legs. Just how much muscle was he made of? “Yes, I know that,” he answered in a slow drawl. “That was done on purpose.”

            “ ** _Covert_** , 007, fucking _**covert**_!” Louis rounded on him suddenly, his cheeks flushing with anger. “Do I really need to get a bloody dictionary and throw it at your head for you to understand?!”

            Harry shrugged, a tiny smile on his face. “Covert is boring. Besides, I’ve already secured an invitation to his gala tonight,” he pulled the envelope out from his pocket, his smile turning smug. “So, we now have direct access to his residence without having to worry about setting off his alarms.”

            Louis snatched it out of his hand, removing the paper from the envelope and skimming over it. “This is an invitation for one,” Louis scoffed. “How in the hell am I supposed to get access to his computer if you’re the only one allowed inside.”

            Harry grinned. “I’ll open a window for you.”

***

            Louis glared at the smirking agent as he crawled through the window on the seventh floor of a very heavily secured building. “You know,” he grumbled as he finally made it in, “I didn’t think you were fucking serious when you said you’d open a window.”

            Harry shrugged, not bothering to back away from where he was standing. “Easiest and safest way in, Q.”

            Louis finally stood straight, the proximity between him and 007 jarring him. There was hardly any space between them, their toes nearly touching, 007 making no effort to move away. “Um,” Louis swallowed heavily, casting his gaze to the side. “I need to get to the computer.”

            “Right,” 007 nodded but remained in his spot.

            The tension between them crackled, Louis trying his hardest not to let himself fall forward lips first. Instead, he placed his hand on 007’s chest and lightly pushed, forcing the agent back a few steps. “We’re here for a retrieval,” he cleared his throat.

            “Right,” 007 repeated.

            Minutes later, Louis was ready to kill someone. “This is ridiculous,” he grumbled as he finished booting up the computer, his blue eyes taking in his surroundings. “Absolutely ridiculous.”

            “Q,” 007 warned from his perch by the door.

            “So ridiculous,” Louis ignored him, the agent’s voice only exasperated and not worthy of any urgent attention. “Everything is gold-plated. _Everything_!”

            “Honestly, Q,” Harry sighed, pulling on the sleeves of his black suit. He pouted at the dark fabric; he much preferred colourful patterns but _someone_ – Q, that someone was Q – said that it would be too ‘easily spotted’, whatever the hell that meant.

            “The bloody doorframes are gold-plated!” Louis huffed, plugging the USB into the port.

            Harry sighed, his gaze wandering to Q’s cheekbones. _So pretty_ , he thought to himself wistfully.

            “Is the bloody _chair_ gold-plated?!” Louis looked around him with wide eyes. “Seriously?!”

            007 suddenly perked up, his ear pressing to the door. “Q, incoming.” He moved back swiftly, his hand hovering over his hidden weapon.

            “Shit,” Louis cursed, glaring at the screen. “I need more time!”

            Harry nodded decisively. “Okay.”

            Louis’ eyes snapped up. “007, don’t even think ab-” He didn’t even have a chance to finish his sentence before Harry had already stormed out of the room, once again ignoring the covert part of the operation. “Bloody fucking hell.”

***

            Louis sat in his window seat, his legs extended to the empty seat facing him as he watched the passing scenery outside. He hardly glanced up as someone sidled up next to him, an arm pressing closer to his as the newcomer ignored the concept of personal space. Louis found travelling on trains to be relaxing, though he wasn’t sure how much of that he was going to be having with 007 plastered to him. He could already feel his traitorous heart rate elevating.

            “So…” 007 started, settling in and watching the scenery along with Q, “I was very much unaware of the fact that you used to be a field agent until that day in the gym when you were sparring with 009. Niall – _R_ , sorry – sort of gave me a very brief rundown.”

            “Is that so?” Louis asked while not really paying attention, the heat being exuded from the body next to him proving to be extremely distracting.

            Harry hummed. “Though I probably would’ve figured it out eventually, especially after yesterday…” he trailed off, remembering the calm look on Louis’ face as he dispatched a consecutive number of security guards at the gala while Harry was off almost getting caught. Louis hadn’t even broken a sweat. Harry resisted the urge to adjust himself in his pants.

            “It’s been a while, granted,” Louis mumbled, shifting distractedly in his seat. “Forgot how taxing it was to throw someone off a balcony,” he winced as he moved his shoulder.

            “If it helps, you looked very attractive while you were doing it.”

            Louis froze before tearing his gaze away from the scenery to focus on the agent next to him instead. “What,” he deadpanned.

            Harry shrugged, settling further into his seat and consequently bringing himself closer to his traveling companion. The seats in front of them, as well as most of the ones directly around them, were empty. “S’true,” he murmured, a blush fighting its way to his cheeks. “Nearly got knocked on my arse ‘cause I couldn’t stop looking at you.”

            Louis sighed deeply and let his head fall back against the comfortable cushion. “007,” he closed his eyes. “Harry,” he started again with another sigh, “this… I can’t – this isn’t something I can do. I’m sorry.” He opened his blue eyes and tilted his head to the side, catching Harry’s own green gaze already fixated on him. “You’re lovely,” he told him truthfully, a wistful smile on his face, “you really are, so bloody lovely. But you already know this won’t work.”

            Harry kept staring at him, his gaze unflinching. “Why did you transfer to Q-branch?” he asked instead of commenting on the previous conversation.

            Louis continued looking at him, his eyes tracing over the soft curve of his cheek, the pink of his lips, the softness of his curls. He accepted the change of subject, no matter how much he wanted to be convinced that maybe, just maybe… “Niall would’ve probably told you that I transferred after a particularly shitty mission.” He continued after Harry nodded, “What he probably didn’t tell you was that it was a rescue mission. I was assigned the task of retrieving one of our agents who’d been made by his target, a terrible result of bad luck and shoddy technology developed by the previous Q. It’d been already too late once I got there, there was barely even a body left for me to bring back. After several weeks of being stuck in a drunken stupor, I went back to HQ, told M to fire the previous Q and let me take his place.” He shrugged nonchalantly, though his body had tensed at the memories the story brought back.

            “Why does it seem like firing the previous Q hadn’t been your initial suggestion to M?” Harry read between the lines, the clench of Louis’ jaw at the mention of his predecessor very telling.

            Louis’ smirk was strained. “I might have been less… diplomatic about it, yes. You can now thank me for never sending you into the field with shitty tech that could’ve gotten you killed.”

            Harry winced slightly as pieces fell into place. “I’m sorry about turning off my comm that other time. I didn’t realise it would upset you that much.” He was finally understanding just how much it must’ve hurt Louis to not be able to keep an eye on one of his agents mid-mission.

            Louis nudged him with his elbow. “In some really twisted way, I can understand why you did it. Whatever feelings you have for me though, you can’t ever do that again. It was a job that required you to sleep with the target; it’s not the first time you’ve gotten that type of mission and it certainly won’t be your last. But I need to be able to watch your back at all times, Hazza. No matter if you were trying to do it out of some sort of misguided attempt to protect my feelings.”

            Harry stared at him with a familiar look of devotion. “Does that mean…”

            Louis shook his head, his lips turning down slightly. “All it means is that we continue on as we are and nothing more.” He inhaled shakily and turned away to look out the window once more. “If it were any other situation, any other bloody _universe_ in which we aren’t what we are, maybe…” He shook his head, his fists clenching against his thighs. “But we are. And so we continue on.”

            While he was turned away, Louis missed the look Harry sent him, missed the way his green eyes nearly glistened before he nodded to himself resolutely. “Okay,” the younger man whispered. “Okay, but… can we at least be friends? Just like… just like how you and 009 are friends, or with R, or…” He stopped when he felt a smaller hand wrap around his larger one, the fingers squeezing around him reassuringly.

            “Of course,” Louis turned to smile at him one more time. “Friends. We can do that.”

***

            “Friends?”

“Yes.”

“Friends.”

A sigh. “Yes.”

Niall’s forehead wrinkled as though he’d never heard the word before. “Friends. Friends? What the fuck, Lou. Friends?!”

“The word is starting to lose its meaning with the amount of times you’ve repeated it over the last thirty seconds,” Louis mumbled as he sat at his desk with his head in his hands, the office door closed so as to keep the minions from seeing just how bloody _exhausted_ he really was.

“Louis,” Niall took the seat in front of him. “Can you really be _just_ friends with Harry? Like, I _really_ want you to think about it. Really, _really_ think about it. Are you thinking about it?”

“Fuck’s sake, Niall, _yes_ okay? Yes, I can be just friends with him,” Louis glared at him as he sat back up, his trusty pen and tablet back in his hands as he continued what he’d been working on before his so-called second-in-command came to interrupt him.

Niall smirked, the expression smug as he sat back in his chair, one leg crossing over the other.

Louis tried not to react to being watched, his pen flying over the tablet.

Niall’s smirk grew larger.

Louis caved. “What?! What’s with that fucking look?”

“What you uh working on right there, Lou bear?” Niall tipped his chin towards the design.

“Don’t call me that,” Louis hissed as he hurriedly glanced at the door, making sure none of the minions overheard the incriminating nickname. “I’m working on a prototype, you know, that thing that’s called my _job_?”

“Really?” Niall leaned backed some more. “What’s the prototype, pray tell?”

“Nothing, it’s just a more stable grip for the new handgun,” Louis shrugged, not understanding what the big deal was. “Harry said it felt a bit off on the last one – Oi, fuck off you Irish bastard!” he snapped when Niall started cackling at Harry’s name. “If one of my agents tells me they have an issue with their weapon, I’ll _obviously_ redesign it to make it more convenient for them!”

“Oh yeah?” Niall continued cackling, his hands holding his shaking belly, laughter echoing through the office. “Is that why you have an entire _folder_ dedicated to Harry?”

“I have a folder for every agent, yes,” Louis huffed, looking away.

“As well as an external hard drive?”

Louis’ head whipped his way, his eyes narrowing. “I _knew_ it, you _did_ go through my things!”

Niall was wheezing at that point, his body nearly sliding off the chair. “You have – a fucking _shower_ – designed for him.” He gave up on keeping himself upright, his giggling frame colliding with the floor.

Louis flushed and stammered. “I – He’d complained about the shower in his apartment not having good water pressure! I was just – Oh fuck you,” he sighed, giving up once he realised that Niall was too far gone to even listen to him.

“Everything all right?” suddenly came from the door, causing both of the office’s occupants to look up simultaneously, Niall caught mid-giggle.

When they saw that it was Harry standing there with surprised wide eyes however, Niall broke once more, his cackles renewing in volume and force.

“Everything’s fine, R is just having an aneurysm,” Louis smiled tightly. “What can I help you with, 007?”

“Shouldn’t we… take him to Medical?” Harry asked as Niall’s face started turning an alarming shade of red.

“Nah, he’ll be just fine,” Louis continued smiling. “So…”

Harry wearily observed the cackling maniac on the floor for a bit before directing his gaze at Louis. “Um… You said there was a prototype you wanted me to try?”

Louis lit up, his eyes bright. “Ah, yes! Come along,” he said as he got up and put away his things, walking around the desk and stepping over Niall while hardly paying attention to him. “It’s already in one of the testing rooms.”

“Right…” Harry glanced at Niall one last time before following Louis out the door.

“Ahhhhhh,” Niall sighed with a grin on his face once he’d managed to calm down slightly. “Those two are so gonna do it soon.” He stared at the ceiling before the cackles started again. “A fucking _shower_ –”

***

Louis tapped impatiently on the counter, his eyes glued to the laptop just _sitting_ there, the screen refusing to yield the information Louis wanted and honestly, he was going to kill someone soon if the tracker didn’t start working at _some fucking point in the near future_ –

 He swallowed harshly and stood up, pacing around his kitchen for a bit while he wrung his hands together, impatient but not having anything to do. He walked to the fridge and opened it for the umpteenth time, closing it without even really looking at what was in there before he began pacing again.

It became a bit of a ritual. He did something mundane, then checked the computer and prayed for updates. Cleaned the dishes, checked the computer. Put his laundry in the wash, checked the computer. Scrubbed the table and the counter down, checked the computer.

The thing was, Niall had told him to go home and sleep. Had told him that it wasn’t the first time a double-oh agent had fallen off the grid, much less 007’s first time, and that he’d be back when he’d be back, probably sometime within the week with a brand new scar to show off and a cheeky smile. Louis had been forced out of HQ after three consecutive days of panicking and miraculously surviving without any sleep, his tablet and his things confiscated, though Niall had conveniently forgotten about Louis’ fully equipped laptop back home.

After hours of being in his flat though, Louis was ready to tear his hair out; there was only so much he could do from his house. He’d already tried to tinker from his end but it was pointless; the signal was completely lost and the only thing they could hope for was that it either miraculously caught on again or 007 found a way to get out of Argentina and was hopefully on his way back soon.

He’d just sat down in front of the laptop to start tapping away at it once more – there had to be something he hadn’t thought of trying yet – when he heard the distant noise of the window to his living room being lifted open.

Louis forced his heart rate to remain as it was while he slipped his hand under the counter and quietly grabbed the handgun he had stashed away there. He shifted from his seat without making any noise and slowly approached the living room. Just as he was about to click the safety off, he heard and ‘oomph’ followed by a body hitting the floor.

Bewildered – Louis could’ve sworn he recognised that voice – he rushed into the living room with his gun at the ready, then thanked the heavens that he didn’t shoot on sight. “Harry?!” he nearly shrieked, his eyes fixated on the figure that had tumbled in through his window and was now lying in a heap on his floor. Louis quickly placed the weapon on his coffee table and rushed forward to help the double-oh agent stand.

“Hi!” Harry greeted with a grin that turned into a wince when he tried to stand. “Sorry for barging in like this,” he continued. Through a joint effort, Harry was finally on his feet, Louis’ arm wrapped securely around his waist to keep him standing. “Climbing in through windows is not as pleasant as you make it seem.”

“007,” Louis stared at him with wide eyes, “where in the hell have you been?!” He looked over the agent and tried to assess the damage, disbelief warring with concern.

“Well see, that’s quite the funny story – ouch!” he gasped when Louis prodded at a sensitive area near his ribs. “That hurt a fair bit!” he exclaimed painfully.

“You need Medical to check this over!” Louis fretted at him, helping him further into the house. “Why didn’t you head straight over to HQ?!”

“’Cause I had to see you first,” he shrugged again and winced once more, prompting Louis to direct him towards the bathroom, their steps steady as Harry gained a better momentum.

“Come on,” the head of Q-branch mumbled, dragging Harry along with him. “I have a fairly well stocked first-aid kit in the bathroom. Let’s get you somewhat patched up.”

Which is how Louis then found himself hovering over a half-naked Harry, his mouth dry as he tried to focus on anything but the _very bare_ , _very well sculpted_ chest – so many tattoos, he had to keep himself from salivating – just a few inches away from his hands. He shook his head and mentally berated himself, dragging his eyes away from the _injured_ agent sitting on his bathroom counter while swinging his stupidly long legs.

Louis opened up the first-aid kit, his hands automatically pulling out what he would need to patch up the rather nasty cut below Harry’s ribs, wordlessly handing over a few painkillers to help with the aching and bruising. He decided to withhold from his line of questioning until he could make sure the other man wasn’t in danger of passing out on him.

“I’m sorry,” 007 broke the silence first, his voice quiet and serious.

When Louis looked up, he found green eyes already fixated on him, pink lips turned down sadly. “What for?” his brows furrowed. He got closer and started cleaning the wound, trying in vain to ignore the hot breath he could feel against the side of his neck as Harry hissed at the stinging sensation.

“The comm,” Harry continued after a moment. “It got damaged in the crossfire and I couldn’t get back in contact with you.”

Louis’ head shot up at the words, his mouth gaping as he stared at Harry’s apologetic face.

“I came here as soon as I could,” he continued in a rush. “Literally, I’ve only been on English soil for less than an hour, and I came straight here to tell you that the comm worked fine, I swear, it just got really, really damaged because, you know, bullets can do that, and –”

“Harry,” Louis cut him off, slowly straightening up and observing the man in front of him with wide eyes, his hand hovering between them with a bloodied strip of cotton in his hand. Had Harry really come all the way to his house while still injured just to reassure Louis that his tech hadn’t failed? That Harry was actually safe and not in danger through any fault of Louis’?

“I… I just wanted to make sure you knew I was okay,” Harry’s lips lifted just a little, his eyes stuck on Louis. “Wanted you to know you got me back home safe.”

Before Louis even knew what he was doing, he found himself lunging forward, his body plastering itself to Harry’s as he captured the man’s lips in a fierce kiss. He could feel Harry responding immediately, his long arms coming to wrap themselves around Louis’ small waist and pulling him infinitely closer. There was no questioning it, no second-guessing something that felt so natural between them, so easy like nothing else in their lives had ever been.

Harry shifted his legs and spread them wider, making room for Louis to fit himself in the open space, Louis’ hands coming up to settle themselves on Harry’s broad shoulders just as he’d imagined doing hundreds of times before. Louis let his tongue peek out and brush against Harry’s soft lips, the younger man letting loose a moan before opening his mouth to happily welcome him.

Just as things were beginning to grow heated, their movements gaining a purpose and leading to more, Harry leaned back a little and felt himself knock into something, the sound of it loud and jarring at it fell to the floor, forcing the two men apart. They looked at each other with wide eyes, their arms still wrapped around each other as the bottle of antiseptic rolled around on the tiled floor.

“Oops,” Harry breathed out, his cheeks flushed and his chest heaving with exertion.

Louis burst into laughter, his head falling forward to rest on Harry’s collarbone as he tried to regain control of himself. He felt Harry’s giggles against his cheek, the two of them still pressed tightly together, the residual tension present but fading away into something a little less urgent. He looked up after a moment, a grin still on his face. “Hi,” he giggled, his eyes crinkling with silent laughter. “Sorry, didn’t mean to pounce on you like that.”

“Please, pounce away,” Harry grinned widely.

Louis nodded but stepped back slightly, a smile still present on his face. “Need to get you all cleaned up, 007. Can’t have you walking around injured.”

Harry watched as Louis grabbed more stuff from the first-aid kit and proceeded to finish cleaning his wound, his skilled eyes examining it. “Doesn’t look very deep,” he mused aloud. “I don’t think it’ll need stitches, at the very least,” he announced as he stepped back. He grabbed the tape and the gauze, making sure to place it on properly with gentle fingers. “Any other injuries I should take a look at?” His hands we’re itching to do something else, to finish what they started, but his priority was to make sure that Harry was taken care of.

Harry shook his head, his eyes still glued to Louis’ smaller form as he moved around the bathroom putting everything away. “Louis,” Harry spoke in his low drawl.

Louis looked up at the sound of his name and found Harry staring at him intently, his long chest still bare and covered with little cuts and bruises hiding amongst his tattoos, a few scars scattered here and there from previous missions. He watched as the double-oh agent slowly slid off the counter and walked towards him, hands at his sides.

“Can I… Can I kiss you again?” he asked bashfully, stopping a foot away from Louis to give him the option to turn him away.

Louis gaped at him, nodding hastily when he realised that he’d been staring in silence for quite a while. “Yeah – yeah, ‘course you can.” Before he could say anything else, he was already being wrapped up in Harry’s arms, lips ghosting on the line of his jaw, his breath catching in his throat.

“Will I be able to kiss you tomorrow?” Harry punctuated the question with a bite to Louis’ neck, a moan escaping the smaller man at the action. “And the day after that?”

“Yes, yes – every day, you can kiss me every day –” Louis only stopped when lips were suddenly being pressed against his, his hands coming up to tangle in the long strands of Harry’s hair just like he’d been wanting to do for an eternity.

When 007 had been declared missing three days ago after his signal had disappeared, Louis had feared the worst. He’d nearly had a panic attack in the middle of Q-branch and the only thing that had stopped him from doing so was Niall bodily dragging him into his office and locking the door behind them for Louis to have his episode in private.

“He’ll be fine,” Niall had reassured him, his hand rubbing Louis’ back soothingly. “You know he always is.”

“What if this is the one time he isn’t? What is this is the one time that he’s _not_ fine!” he had managed to say between his gasping breaths. It was then that he’d come to the realisation that he’d been an utter arse over his entire relationship with Harry. Not only had Louis spent so long trying not to acknowledge his feelings for the double-oh agent, but he’d also gone so far as to deny himself a friendship with the other man for the longest time.

Seeing Harry standing in his living room, fine and unharmed except for a few cuts and bruises, had loosened something deep in Louis’ chest. Even if it was going to be hard, even if it was going to be nearly impossible, he wanted to at least give whatever they could have a chance, if Harry was still willing to.

Wrapped up in Harry’s arms in the bathroom wasn’t exactly how he’d pictured it going, but he’d take it any way he could. He stood on the tips of his toes and pressed his lips against Harry’s even more, twin moans erupting from them as their bodies brushed closer together. Louis gasped, Harry’s tongue sliding against his while his large hands slipped down to palm at Louis’ generous curves.

“Fuck –” Harry pulled away to gasp, his fingers squeezing around Louis’ arse and basking in the resulting groan. “Been wanting to do that for such a long time,” he admitted quietly, leaning forward to press kisses along the line of Louis’ neck. “So beautiful.”

Louis couldn’t stop moaning, his hips thrusting forward of their own volition and causing their erections to brush against each other. Their bodies shuddered as a result, excitement and disbelief rushing through them as they were finally able to experience something they’d been keeping themselves from for a while.

“Come on,” Louis mumbled against Harry’s lips, his hand tugging at the waist of Harry’s trousers as he began to walk backwards. “Let’s get you in bed, hm? For sleeping,” he clarified when Harry’s eyes widened and his cheeks flushed even more. “You’re still injured and I won’t allow you to do anything to damage yourself any further. That’s what you get for skipping out on Medical.” He stuck his tongue out mockingly only to let loose a wild moan as Harry surged forward to suck on it, the action entirely unexpected.

“I’m perfectly fine.” Harry punctuated his statement by grabbing onto Louis’ arse and lifting him up.

Louis gasped as his legs wrapped around Harry’s hips instinctively, his gut dropping to the floor; he couldn’t stop himself from grinding forward and seeking heat, his cock rubbing against the muscles of Harry’s abdomen. He surged forward and let their lips fuse together, his hands coming up to clench at Harry’s soft curls and pulling at them to tilt his head back. He took control of the kiss, vaguely taking into account that Harry had started moving them, his feet dragging them out of the bathroom and into the hallway.

“Haz,” Louis panted against his mouth, “you were barely able to stand just a while ago, this must be killing you.”

Harry shook his head frantically, pressing kisses all over Louis’ face. “Your magic fingers have healed me,” he gasped, prompting Louis to let loose a loud laugh.

“Second door to the right,” he mumbled against his lips, his words mingling unintelligibly into the kiss, one of his hands escaping down to scratch his nails along Harry’s lean back.

They shuffled down the hall, Louis clinging to Harry’s body as he was carried, giggles escaping them as they bumped into random things along the way. “Aren’t you supposed to be a spy?” Louis laughed against Harry’s mouth as he pulled him in for endless kisses, thankfully having finally reached the bedroom. “Where’s your bloody coordination, agent?”

Harry smiled and dropped him on the bed, Louis crawling back towards the headboard while Harry hastily undressed himself. “Clothes off, come on!” he told Louis impatiently, nearly falling over and braining himself as his trousers got caught around his ankles.

Louis cackled but obeyed the command, impatience tugging at him in every way. He grabbed his sweater and pulled it over his head, his hair flying in every direction while he proceeded to push his joggers and his pants down his muscled thighs. He let out a yelp when harry surged forward, grabbing the offending fabric and swiftly removing it, throwing it over his shoulder and crawling over Louis’ body, both of them finally naked.

“Nuh uh,” Louis shook his head with a smile before he proceeded to roll them over, his thighs coming up to cage Harry in place on the bed. “Can’t let you strain yourself, hm? What with you being injured and all,” he smirked, dipping down for a kiss from Harry’s slack mouth. “Sit back, let me do all the work.”

Harry watched in rapture as Louis placed reverent kisses all along his torso, pausing to bite at his nipples, his lips quirking with amusement at the two extra little nubs beneath them. “Don’t laugh,” Harry mumbled, his head falling back against the pillow and his eyes slipping shut in bliss as Louis’ mouth reached his navel. “I used to be very self-conscious of them.”

Louis giggled and bit at his hipbone. “No reason to feel self-conscious, babe; they’re lovely.”

Harry felt his breath catch in his throat, both at the compliment as well as the term of endearment. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but found a loud moan escaping him instead as sudden heat enveloped him, Louis’ lips wrapping around his cock and sucking him down. “Fuck!” he cried out, the tendons in his neck straining as he fought not to chase after the heat by shoving his hips upwards. Sweat was already accumulating along the dip of his collarbones, beads of perspiration running down his skin.

Louis hummed and took him in deeper, his hands running along the slick skin of Harry’s stomach down to the divots of his hip, and further down to the strong muscles of his lean thighs, his fingers digging into the soft skin. He pulled away slightly, panting as he let his head rest on the side of Harry’s hip, his own cock straining from the lack of attention. “Been wanting to do this for a while,” he admitted breathlessly, moaning when fingers carded pleasantly through his hair.

“Would it reflect badly on me if I say that the second I first saw you, all I wanted to do was drop to my knees?” Harry giggled, the sound turning into full-blown laughter when Louis’ head shot up, wide eyes observing him incredulously.

“Fuck off, you can’t be serious!”

“I swear!” Harry’s eyes crinkled from laughing so much. “Niall’s been laughing at me ever since. He uses it against me when he’s heading my missions,” he admits, his voice a little more sober. “He’s figured out by now that I always think of you when I have honeypot missions.”

Louis gaped at him, his body hovering over Harry’s. “Fuck, but why is that so hot?” he whispered to himself, his hands coming up to rest on Harry’s torso. “Maybe I should keep a running commentary going during your next mission,” Louis suggested as a joke, but found Harry’s expression lighting up as his pupils dilated.

“Yes, please!” he nodded his head vigorously, his hips slowly undulating without his knowledge. “You can – fuck, you can tell me what to do,” his voice was breathless, his hands wrapping around Louis’ waist possessively. “You can like, give me instructions? Your voice in my ear during the whole thing – oh fuck.” The mere idea of it had pre-come leaking from the tip of Harry’s cock, the ghost of Louis’ voice in his ear during missions coming back to him.

Louis watched Harry’s reaction with wide eyes, his mouth salivating over the fact that _this_ was how turned on Harry got when he was only thinking about Louis. “Fuck,” he mumbled, delving in to bite at the junction of Harry’s shoulder and neck, his teeth digging deep into the skin and pulling a broken moan out of the double-oh agent. “Fuck, okay. I will, I’ll do it,” he promised, his tongue soothing at the bite, before his lips found their way back to Harry’s both of them groaning into the kiss.

“Please, Lou – just,” Harry’s back arched as Louis’ teeth tugged at his lower lip, “I need – please!” he couldn’t find the words to express the burning want that had settled deep into his bones from the day he’d first met Q. Having him so close but with a barrier still between them was killing him. “Need you in me, please!” he wailed, his hands pulling him closer by the waist and pressing their chests together; it had the secondary effect of pushing their erections together as well and Harry could’ve sworn he saw stars.

Louis shook his head, his body trembling as his hands fought to find something to grip along Harry’s slick skin while avoiding the bandage and any other injury. “No.”

Harry froze, the haze lifting from his mind slightly. “What?” he whispered, his heart lodging itself in his throat.

“You’re too injured for that,” Louis kissed along his jawline, soothing away Harry’s worries with a few words. “Let me take care of you, ok?” He pulled away and smiled at the man beneath him, his stomach flipping as he took in Harry’s exquisite features, his eyes blissed out with pleasure. “I want to take care of you.”

Harry watched with wide green eyes as Louis leaned over to ruffle through the bedside table, coming back with a condom and a bottle of lube in his hand. He set them on the bed before he straddled Harry properly, his strong thighs holding Harry hostage, though Harry had no complaints whatsoever about his predicament.

He obediently pursed his lips when Louis leaned down for a kiss, theirs mouths smacking together repeatedly. “Love your lips,” Louis admitted as he licked at them. “Love your eyes,” he continued, pulling away slightly to pepper kisses along the corners of Harry’s eyes, “and your curls,” he pulled at an errant curl with a smile before dropping to nuzzle at the crook of his neck and taking a deep breath, “but I especially love your smell.”

Harry moaned brokenly, his hips thrusting forward, his hands settling against the generous curves of Louis’ arse and gripping tightly. Louis got the message, pulling away with a giggle and grabbing the bottle of lube at their side. He coated his fingers generously, his eyes locked onto Harry’s as he brought his hand back to his entrance, his finger skimming over it lightly. “Consider yourself lucky,” Louis teased, a groan escaping him as he pushed in slowly, “I don’t usually let people fuck me until the fourth date.”

Harry watched in rapture as Louis prepped himself, the smaller man’s hips already squirming back against his own hand, his pink mouth dropping open as he let loose a moan. Harry was so mesmerised he didn’t even notice when his own hands moved, the tips of his fingers brushing against Louis’ entrance. He nearly chocked over the fact that he could feel Louis stretching himself open, the slick lube transferring to Harry’s own hand as he pushed a finger in with Louis’.

“Fuck!” Louis cried out and nearly fell forward, his left hand coming up to clutch at Harry’s chest. “Fuck, that feels so good,” he moaned brokenly, pushing back against the fingers in him. “S’good, I’m good, come on.” He pulled his fingers out impatiently, jerking down as Harry kept fingering him, adding another two for good measure. Louis whimpered, his cock leaking as he grabbed blindly at the condom, tearing it open with his mouth and pulling back to roll it on Harry’s frankly beautiful erection, and honestly since when was a cock pretty?! Fuck but Harry always did defy the laws of the universe. He grabbed the lube and slicked him up, batting Harry’s hand away from him impatiently.

Harry let his hands wander across Louis’ defined torso, his eyes fixated on where he could feel Louis sinking onto him. A choked sound caught in his throat, his entire body tensing then spasming as heat wrapped tightly around him, Louis’ thighs straining as he slowly let himself drop down until Harry was fully sheathed in him.

“Oh fuck,” Louis gasped reverently, his blue eyes fluttering shut as his head fell back. “Fuck but does that feel so good, oh shit,” he moaned desperately, digging his nails into Harry’s pectorals. “So good for me, Hazza.”

Harry could feel tears of pleasure building behind his eyes, his body nearly vibrating with the need to move further into the heat, to completely lose himself in Louis and the lines of his body, the sound of his voice. He moaned hoarsely when Louis started to move, his hips lifting and dropping slightly, getting used to the friction. “Louis,” he moaned, his hands moving to grasp at Louis’ thighs, encouraging him to move faster. “Please,” he asked brokenly, his limbs shaking. He wasn’t going to last, he knew it.

Louis nodded frantically, his body picking up a faster rhythm, bobbing up and down, the sounds of slick skin rubbing together filling the room along with harsh panting and cut-off moans. Louis couldn’t for the life of him understand how he had ever thought he could keep himself from something like this, he thought to himself as he let his body fall forward, his chest pressing against Harry’s, his mouth seeking the other’s. It felt like the world was crumbling around him, his thighs straining as he continued to grind onto Harry’s cock, the feeling of it addicting, his body chasing a high that was just barely out of his reach. His tongue tangled with Harry’s, large hands rubbing up and down his back, pausing every once in a while to skim reverently over the point where their bodies connected.

“Haz,” Louis breathed into his mouth with a near sob, “I’m gonna come soon,” he whispered, his hips slamming down faster. “Please, please –”

 Harry nodded frantically, his right hand slipping into the limited space between their bodies, grasping at Louis’ leaking cock and tugging at it. He was rewarded with a loud cry, Louis breaking away to bite at his jaw, his body frantic as he chased after his orgasm.

“Harry!” he cried out, his entire being shaking as he spilled over Harry’s hand and chest. His body shook, his mouth panting against Harry’s as he struggled to keep moving through the feelings that were flaring and cascading along his nerves.

Harry choked as he felt Louis’ body clench around him and finally let himself follow not long after, nearly blacking out from sheer ecstasy as he released into Louis’ heat, his hips stuttering uncontrollably. He came slowly back to the present to find Louis already wiping them down, condom discarded in the bin near the bedside table. Harry watched him move around with a dazed look on his face, looked on as Louis let the damp flannel drop to the floor before he crawled back onto the bed, a satisfied smile on his face.

“Hi,” Louis whispered as he wiped away the tears Harry hadn’t even noticed had streamed down his own face. “You okay?” Louis asked in concern, his eyes flitting around to assess if he’d worsened the agent’s injuries. “Did I hurt you?”

Harry shook his head, a giggle erupting from him as he shifted to make space for Louis next to him. He held Louis against him once they had snuggled up together, Louis resting his head against Harry’s chest with a happy sigh. “Nah, you didn’t hurt me,” Harry finally spoke after a moment, his eyes heavy with sleep, his body sated and tired. “Thank you.”

Louis cackled. “Do you always thank people after sex?” he giggled into his chest, placing a kiss on a bruise near him.

“Only when it’s really, really incredible sex.” Harry tried to keep a straight face before he dissolved into giggles as well, his arms tugging Louis closer, his lips trailing along his temple.

They fell asleep tangled in each other, the sounds of their breathing echoing throughout the otherwise silent flat, the thoughts of a promising future filling their minds.

***

            Louis watched the monitors carefully, his eyes tracking every move as 007 moved down the hallways smoothly, the security cameras transferring the feed back to MI6 headquarters. He ignored Niall as he settled in next to him, already sensing the amusement radiating off his right-hand man.

            “So,” Niall started after a while of Louis refusing to acknowledge his presence. “I read over the file for 007’s mission. Seems a bit tricky, don’t you think?”

            “What could possibly be tricky about an extraction mission?” Louis mumbled, grabbing the offered mug of tea from a minion before they scurried away.

            “Well for one,” Niall glanced at the picture in his hands, “the target is fairly attractive, don’t you think?” he nudged him, trying to get a reaction out of him.

            “Yes, yes she is,” Louis glanced at him with a raised eyebrow, unsure of where the conversation was going.

            Niall turned to him, his face serious all of a sudden. “Are you sure you’re okay with this? I can take the lead on this one if you preferred.”

            Louis cackled, turning to face Niall with a large smirk on his face. “R, I’m more than capable of handling this.”

            Niall looked around, making sure the minions were too far overhear anything before continuing. “Listen, I know you and Hazza are trying to keep this under the wraps as much as possible, but pretty much anyone who looks at you two knows you’re together. These kinds of missions… one can understand why you wouldn’t want to watch him sleep with someone else.”

            Louis sighed and turned to face his friend, his heart warming at the fact that Niall was simply looking out for him. “Nialler,” he placed his hands on his friend’s shoulders, “I swear to you, we’re both grown adults who are more than fine with this. He’s a double-oh agent and I’m the head of Q-branch; we knew what we were getting into, I promise.”

            Niall looked into his eyes for several seconds before nodding resolutely. “Okay!” he clapped his hands together happily. “I believe you.”

            “Good!” Louis beamed at him. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be conducting the rest of this mission from the privacy of my office. Please keep the minions occupied.” He smiled, pressed a few buttons on the keyboard and transferred the feed exclusively to his office monitors. “Be on standby if I call you, yeah?”

            Louis waltzed away with a smile, shutting and locking his office door behind him. He settled in his seat, the screens switching on to Harry’s location, the double-oh agent already chatting up his target, slowly leading her away from the crowd and towards the more private rooms.

            “Good to see we’re on schedule, 007,” Louis spoke into the mic, smirking as he saw Harry’s shoulders stiffen in attention through the video feed. “Are you ready to play a little game?” He nearly laughed as he saw 007’s vitals speed up a little, heard his cut-off whimper through the speakers. “And remember, you have to do _exactly_ as I say.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come join me on tumblr [here](http://midnightsurge.tumblr.com)!
> 
> Comments are greatly appreciated :)


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